Wednesday evening saw the deadline for teams to protect prospects from the Rule 5 Draft by placing them on the 40-man roster. The Cubs’ roster stood at 32 players, giving them eight spots to add. But knowing they still need room to add free agents and potential trade acquisitions, they weren’t going to fill all the openings with internal prospects.
As expected, the Cubs selected 20-year-old Miguel Amaya to become the third catcher on the roster. An outstanding defender, Amaya was seen as the only true no-brainer pick from among all the possibilities to be added.